The Fire Within
by Sulphuric Wolf
Summary: Coldfire the aloof Glaceon was a self-respecting eon with only one friend, but it is only when a strange newcomer appears in her life that she realizes who she truly is. Eon Fic. Glaceon x Requeon Ghost Eeveelution
1. Newcomer

The Fire Within, version II.

Well, this is a redone version of my old fanfic which you can find here: .com/art/The-Fire-within-69431891. **WARNING: SPOILERS! DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT THE ENDING REVEALED. **

It's probably a result from my current Warriors obsession. This is a new genre that I have named Eon fics, since all such stories involve eons that live in the wild, usually in groups. Have a go at it, if you can!

It was originally a one-shot, but I'm adding much more detail in it so it will probably be a three- or four-shot. It's primarily romance, Frostfearshipping in fact. This shipping is my name for a relationship between a Glaceon and a Ghost Eeveelution; which, in my case is a Requeon. Find out about Requeon and my Eeveelution project here: .com/eeveelutionproject/

There will be more shippings later on, but I can't say anything more without giving things away.

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Chapter 1 – Newcomer.

_Far north the deep, green forest where the Forest Clans dwell peacefully under the ever watchful eye of their leaders, there is a cold, bleak land of ice. No plants dare to straggle through the frozen ground, save a few strong pines, their branches covered in a light powder of snow. Following lead of the plants, the only animals that dwelled there were one that could withstand the bitter cold of the vast tundra. These were the creatures whose typing usually involved the Ice element in some way, or that had an affiliation with the element rather than having it in their typing._

_Since this was still part of Eon Island, Glaceons and a few hardy Vaporeons dwelled in this stark, snowy area. Glaceons, living either alone, in pairs or in small groups, dwelled in ice caves. They fed on the various smaller wildlife, such as Snover, Delibird and occasionally Sneasel. These eons were well aware of the Forest Clans; they saw their members pass by on some unknown quest every now and again. But this was another world. A cold, bleak, harsh world full of nothing but ice and frigidity. A world where anything could go wrong…_

I sat alone, away from the others.

I preferred not to be around them. They seemed like immature fools who cannot take care of themselves, at least, from my perspective. Why would anyone want to live with others when you can take perfectly good care of yourself alone?

Then again, Glaceon are not known for their social abilities or charisma. I, of course, am no exception, having originated in the frozen wastelands of the north.

But here I was, smack bang in the middle of a pack, Tuju. I hadn't wanted it this way, no doubt about that. But it seems fate has a funny way of deciding things.

_The little Eevee frolicked playfully though the snow, frigid winds ruffling her mane, ice crunching underpaw. She was free!_

_The Eevee was certainly aware that her parents were chasing after her. Their screams of panic were distorted heavily by the wind, but she could still hear them calling out her name over and over. She didn't care. Too long had she been kept in the awful frosty cave; she wanted to explore and find something exciting._

_Indeed she did, but it was not what she was expecting_

I can't complain though. Some of my packmates are tolerable. For instance, I like Stonehenge, the Quartzeon. He was a playful guy, a little rowdy, but at least he knew when to leave me alone.

But I couldn't help wondering, why did Mew send me here? Did she think she was being funny or something?

I pondered this and other oddities while I sat in my favourite spot, in the lee of a rock. This protected my from the sun's harsh rays; as a creature of ice, I'm not partial to warmth. Nobody came near this rock; they knew it was mine. The other Glaceon, Icesoul, was left to find his own shelter. Probably off with Terraforma, his Siliceon buddy. Icesoul is slightly more social than the average Glaceon.

He, however, was the least of my concern.

_She had tripped over something lying within the snow. After shaking the ice from her face and mane, she averted her icy blue gaze to the huge lump of puffy snow clustered around the object. She frowned in confusion, and attempted to shake some clinging snow from the soft, plush, creamy-coloured mane. Narrowing her eyes against the howling wind that was now blowing against her, she pumped her stocky limbs in order to carry herself up the hill. The sky was a dark midnight blue, but enough light shone through for her to see the slither of sapphire coloured crystal shimmering beneath the snow. _

_Her heart pounded. This was the kind of thing she had been looking for! _

Right now, I was only concerned with getting my nap. I spread out in the shade, feeling the ice in my fur cool my skin as it seeped through my thick aqua pelt, and let my eyes flutter closed. Darkness began to creep up on me.

_Barely able to contain her excitement, she reached forward with a tin, shivering paw to brush away the snow. Her large eyes widened as more and more shining blue stone was revealed, shining dimly under the small amount of light that shone from the weak sun. Her lips pulled back in an excited grin. A pretty stone, and she had found it all herself! She could see her parents in her peripheral vision, sprinting up the hill towards her. That was good. They could help her lug the stone back to their den. When she met their eyes to tell her what she had found, they were clouded with panic. Their jaws hung open, gasping in the frigid air. "No," cried her mother, shrill voice distorted by the wind. "Faerie, stop!" The Eevee frowned, and looked back at her stone. It was so… beautiful. She wanted to… touch it. She was positive it would be nice and cool like the snow beneath her paws. Slowly, she lowered her paw towards the shimmering surface._

"_Faerie! No!" _

_The little mammal jerked her head towards her father, who was now halfway up the hill. But it was too late to follow his instruction. Her paw touched the stone, and she screamed as the extreme coldness burst through her. The icy energy raced through her veins, making every iota of her being scream with pain. She howled as her destroyed body was ripped away from her soul, and replaced with a new, cold, powerful one._

_Her parents could but watch in awe as this happened. She was too young for this, oh so young. But here she was- their little Faerie. Staring down the hill at them with eyes like narrow chips of ice. The wind ruffled her thick teal fur, and ruffled the long tassels of fur that fell from the sides of her face. Now she looked just like them, only smaller. _

_Then, she stumbled down the hill, panting heavily and puffing out clouds of steam. "Burning…" she moaned. "I was… burning."_

_The parents looked at each other, knowing their daughter was safe and stronger than ever. A smile passed over the female's face, and was soon reflected in the father's._

_Her whisper was tiny, almost too silent to be heard over the roaring winds. But her mate heard, and acknowledged her with a small jerk of his head._

"_Coldfire."_

"Coldfire!"

His voice jerked me from my peaceful slumber. That annoying, beloved voice. I didn't know wether to smile or hiss with anger as I saw his gangly brown form soar over my rock. I rose to my feet, biting back my annoyance and instead dipping my head in respect.

The Quartzeon stepped forward and smiled at me, russet eyes shining. I didn't know how he could move so easily with a mane and tail of jagged hairs that he could turn into crystals at will. He was somewhat lanky for one of his kind, but I knew that strength lay in those wiry limbs. They'd named him after his incredible defence and endurance, for like a Stonehenge, he could last forever. I had seen him crunch rocks with those crystal fangs…

But nevertheless, Stonehenge was a light-hearted guy. Maybe he should have been a Soareon… but that decision was up to him. I'm all for evolution freedom, not having had a choice myself.

"Sorry to bother you," he begun in his soft, friendly voice. "I just thought you might appreciate knowing that a new Eevee has arrived. He's like, old and stuff." The rock eon scratched himself behind the ear with his back paw, distracted and jumpy as ever.

But I was interested. I felt my eyes widen as I questioned him further. "What's he doing here?"

Stonehenge shrugged his shoulders. "He asked Brightmind to join the pack. He seemed pretty eager, too."

I looked skyward thoughtfully. "Hmm, now this is interesting. I'm going to suss it out."

Stonehenge grinned excitedly and hopped onto my rock. "I hoped you would say that," He trilled, before disappearing over the boulder.

I was left to speed after him.

---

The main den was filled, as I had dreaded. Squealing Eevee everywhere. Lovers side by side. It made me want to vomit in my mouth. How could they be so foolish to trust another?

I tried my best to shut my awareness of them off as I settled beside Stonehenge, who wagged his scruffy tail excitedly. Peering between the ears of an eon, I could see the large, elegant form of our leader, Brightmind the Noveon, scowling at us with his rainbow-hued eyes. Mostly, he's an irritable old grump, prone to sudden moments of wisdom. Besides him sat a very handsome Eevee, elongated and mature looking. His ruff looked small on his tall, slender body, his lithe muzzle having lost all the babyish roundness of any pack born Eevee. I could smell that he had come of age, which never happens to any Eevee in a pack. For this reason, many eons stared curiously at him, their almond shaped eyes blazing with curiosity.

When I looked at him, curiosity welled within me. Who was this newcomer, and how did he survive so long without evolving?

Stonehenge seemed as intrigued as I was. His deep brown eyes glowing with interest, he whispered in my ear gently. "How is that possible? Wouldn't a predator have killed him?" His voice crackled with excitement.

I shrugged, and looked down the newcomer again. Beneath his thick brown pelt, I could see powerful muscles sliding about, as he turned his neck to look at the den with mildly amused grey eyes. For a moment his gaze lay on me, and I didn't miss his long ears flicking back slightly. If I had been acting myself, I would have glared at him threateningly. But for some reason, I flicked my gaze away and instead looked at one of Stonehenge's big brown paws.

_What are you doing? _My conscience hissed. My muscles clenched involuntarily in embarrassment. This was not good.

I was lucky for two reasons, one because Stonehenge was too interested in the newcomer to pay attention to me, and two because Brightmind rescued me by speaking up in his gruff, proud voice.

"Members of Tuju." He rasped, raking his shimmering gaze over us all. "Today we welcome Oberon, a roaming Eevee who has told me he wishes to join this clan." He turned his powerful gaze to the Eevee, who surprisingly didn't flinch. "But, it is pack law that all Eevees must be evolved by the time they are six moons old, which Oberon obviously is." The Eevee nodded in agreement, looking rather excited.

"So before he can be officially accepted into the clan, he must evolve."

On that note, Brightmind waved his long, bushy silver tail, and a cluster of eons moved forwards. I soon realised that there was one of each type, carrying a stone in their mouths. Oberon's stormy hued eyes widened visibly as the eons arranged the stones in front of him in a semicircle and sat beside the stone of their element. The dim light made each of them sparkle a different hue.

"Chose a stone, and place your paw on it," Commanded Brightmind. "I'm sorry you didn't get longer to make up your mind, but this can't be helped."

Oberon shook his head. "Don't worry. I've though about this for a long time, and I've made my decision." He trotted up to a stone, but before I could see what it was, the eon in front of me, a large Flareon, stood up to get a better view.

Rage seethed inside of me. It was this sort of behaviour that put me off other beings. "Sit down, will you?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes. The Flareon turned around to look at me; it was Pyropelt. I could tell by the light hue of his mane and tail. "I'd like to see as well." He seemed shocked that I; a Glaceon, had the nerve to speak to a Flareon like that, but twitched his ear and obliged.

"Thanks," I growled harshly. Stonehenge shot me a disapproving glance; he always disagreed with my harsh way of dealing with others besides him.

On that note; the Eevee began to glow. He had touched a dark crystal with a creepily ghostly glow and was beginning to evolve. I felt sorry for the guy; my experience of evolution was painful. My parents told me I screamed loud enough for the whole island to hear. But if this Eevee had felt pain, nobody heard about it.

Soon enough, the glow faded. Most eons gasped, and Pyropelt leapt to his feet again, blocking my view once more.

"Oh, for Mew's sake." Even Stonehenge was annoyed now, and he got to his feet impatiently. I followed suit, but I still couldn't see over Pyropelt's big stupid ear. I turned to my Quartzeon friend grumpily. He had an admiring grin plastered on his face.

"That's awesome!" he gasped. "What?" I snapped in return. "I can't see because someone's ear is in the way." I hissed, glaring at the back of Pyropelt's head. He didn't hear me, but flattened his ears in excitement anyway.

And then I saw that Stonehenge was right.

The plain, boring brown Eevee was gone. In his place was a deep navy eon, so dark it almost appeared black. Its body was sleek and muscular. Instead of the gentle grey eyes that Oberon had possessed, it had bright, blood red orbs slashed with a dark slit of a pupil. The body the eon was slightly opaque, and blazed with haunting black fire. He had done this on purpose, to show off his new skills.

Brightmind seemed impressed. "Very good," he mused, nodding slowly. "Now, before you can be fully accepted into the pack, you must pick a name. Then you may be fully accepted into the pack."

Hey, he gets to pick his own name? Now that isn't fair. My parents picked mine out, and it's a weird one.

But the ghostly eon laughed and looked down at his new, powerful body. "Easy," he scoffed.

Then he raised his head to look us all down. "I am new to pack life, having travelled alone my whole life. I hope you will show me respect and understanding, which I will show you in turn," The Requeon then jumped off the small raised area that he and Brightmind had been standing on. The crowed gasped and jumped back. I rolled my eyes at the performance.

"I am Blackflame."

"Blackflame," repeated our leader, his multi-hued eyes shining with excitement. "Welcome to Tuju."

* * *

Well, hope you liked it so far! Most of the things in italics happened in the past, if you were wondering. C&C!


	2. The Curse of Love

The Fire Within, version II.

Awwww… why hasn't this fic had any reviews? I'm sure it would have if it was a legend shipping fic… c'mon guys, give it a go!

Oh, and to avoid any confusion:

Turn = Year

Moon = Month

Sun = Day

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!

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Chapter 2 – The Curse of Love

A sea of Eons crowded around Blackflame, bombarding him with annoying questions. I felt kind of sorry for the guy. I know for a fact that if I were in his position, they would all end up frozen. Surely he could turn invisible and sneak away…

"Hey, Coldfire!"

I turned to see Stonehenge grinning back at me. The arrival of a new pack member seemed to only excite him more than usual. "Wanna go hunting?" he inquired, wagging his scruffy tail.

I sighed. What harm could it do? Besides, I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since yesterday, and the sun was starting to set. "Sure," I muttered.

This only seemed to excite him more. Brown eyes shining, he scampered for the exit. Sometimes it was a little tiring having a hyperactive Quartzeon as a friend. "Let's go to the forest! I'm sure all the rodents will be preparing for the night!" On that note, he dashed out the huge cavern.

I followed him at a slower pace, distracted by what had unfolded.

"Hey." A deep voice called me back. Ugh, what did they want? My stomach was beginning to growl. I set a warning scowl on my face, but dropped it as soon as I had spun around and seen who it was.

Blackflame, solid once more, looked at me with amusement. "I see you left as soon as you could. Don't you like your pack mates?" His voice was light and curious.

I felt my muscles tighten involuntarily. Who was he to question my motives? I considered biting back with a snappy retort, but decided to give the guy a break seeing as he was new. Instead, I just shrugged my shoulders and replied: "I prefer my own company."

The Requeon nodded. "You do, however, seem rather fond of that excitable Quartzeon. Is he your mate?" The formality in his tone was forced and edged with sarcasm.

At this remark, I couldn't help but laugh at his preposterous comment. Stonehenge, my mate? "No," I chuckled. "He's just my friend. Do you take me for the kind of eon to have a mate?" I narrowed my eyes, eager to see what he would say next.

He grinned at me widely with new, white teeth. The gesture sent a little shiver down my spine. I didn't get why. Before my conscience could interrupt, he continued. "No, I suppose not. You do seem, uhhh…" - His red hued eyes darted around the room for effect - "Rather selective."

I narrowed my eyes. I'd just met this fellow and he was already commenting on my love life. "What do you mean?"

Grin still inset, Blackflame sat back on his haunches, curling his thick tail around his body and pretending to inspect a razor-sharp claw. "Oh, I've been all over this island, hon. Seen plenty like you. Give off all the wrong vibes because they're supposedly too different."

I snorted at his ignorance. How dare he assume something like that? "You've got no idea what I've been through. If you did, you wouldn't say that."

"Oh, really now?" came the smart-assed reply. "And what happened?" His eyes challenged me, dared me to surprise him.

I usually didn't share my pathetic back-story with others, let alone strangers. But I wanted this eon to know just how wrong he was.

"When I was two turns old, just a foolish young Eevee, I frequented this water hole. It was the only water source around where I lived, up in the North. One day, when I was getting a drink, I noticed another Eevee on the opposite side. I found out from my parents that his name was Demetrius and that he lived with his family near the water hole. I ended up quite good friends with his brother, and he invited me over to play a lot. The whole time, I was captivated by his brother. A foolish teenager, I began to fall in love.

"He didn't see much interested in me, though. He acted superior to me, and didn't acknowledge me much. Since he was much older than myself and his brother, he soon evolved into a Vaporeon, taking on the name Sleetfisher and began to pursue another Vaporeon. I watched them link tails by the lake, and gaze lovingly into each other's eyes for nearly a turn. It was heart wrenching.

"His brother, who evolved into the hypo Quartzeon you see today while on a trip to the desert, returned and encouraged me to talk to him. His name is Stonehenge, by the way. He's been a good friend to me for as long as I can remember. I listened to his advice and confronted Sleetfisher.

"I really poured my heart out to him. Told him all the things I'd felt. He was disgusted. He told me he'd rather… he said some really horrible things. He ran off to be with his Vaporeon, and I've never seen him since.

"Stonehenge was leaving; Quartzeon don't live in the North. I decided that there was no point in me staying up there and having to see Sleetfisher and his mate all the time. So, I came to join this clan."

Blackflame's jaw hung open slightly, his eyes were blank. For a moment there was silence as I stared at him as intensely as I could. Then he gulped. "Wow. What a story."

I nodded. "It could have ended a lot worse, and I'm thankful, but I've made a deal with myself to never fall under that curse again."

The Requeon was reflective for a moment. "That's a sad way to live. I mean, sure, first loves are painful, but when you progress, you find something that fits comfortably." He looked at me, eyes tender.

He did have a point. But I was astonished that this eon that had just evolved moments ago could be so wise. "How old are you?"

"Six turns."

Oh my Mew. He was a turn older than me and he'd just evolved. "How come you didn't evolve naturally, then?"

He shrugged. "I journeyed a lot."

I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't even know why the Turnback I've told you all this. I promised Stonehenge I would hunt with him, and he's probably wondering where I am."

Blackflame nodded and got to his feet. "Okay. I'll see you around I guess."

As I ran across the clearing to where the forest starts, I saw Stonehenge emerging from the dense growth, a Rattata in his jaws. It was beginning to get dark, the setting sun staining the clouds a deep pinkish red. Stonehenge approached me with a concerned expression on his bloody face. "Where have you been? I was getting worried."

"Oh, sorry. I got caught up talking to Blackflame. Did you know he's six turns old?" Stonehenge raised his brow and placed his meal on the ground. "You can have some of that, if you want. I'm not really hungry.

"Thanks," I replied, and stripped the purple fur off the broken body in order to bite off a hunk of meat. Quartzeon kill their prey with stones, so the bones were all shattered and a disgusting pulp oozed out a fracture in the skull.

Having seen that, I lost my appetite and pushed the food back to him. "What did he want?"

I tried to avert my gaze from the bloody mess in front of me. "He was curious about why I left early, and he accused me of being selective, so I told him about Sleetfisher."

I saw Stonehenge stiffen. He didn't like talking about his brother, after what he'd done me. "I just wanted him to know what he was saying."

"Ok," he said shakily. "I'm going to my den now. See you tomorrow." With that, he picked up his tea and ran off to his den, ears and tail drooping in distress.

I decided to at least get some food my way, so I froze a Rattata for myself and carried it back to my den. As I ate in my bed of ice crystals, I couldn't get my mind off how stupid I was to tell all that to stuff to a Requeon I barely knew.

But for some reason, I trusted Blackflame. He was older than me, and much worldlier. His advice seemed feasible, too.

I figured if I was going to be cursed again, that I wished it to be someone like Blackflame to capture my affections.

* * *

Sorry about the back-story. I hope this doesn't make her a Mary-sue. I don't think it does, personally, since a lot of people go through this, and that doesn't make them Mary-sues.

Anyways, I have to ask: who's your favourite character so far? I personally like Stonehenge; he's the reason I pitied Mike Newton in Twilight… for reasons that will become clear later.


	3. The Talk

I woke up in a half melted puddle of ice. Groaning, I pulled myself to my feet, wincing as my bones protested against having slept in the damp. I hauled myself out of the shallow basin that was my bed, and turned to refreeze it. I pulled in a deep breath, feeling the temperature drop in my mouth as my body constricted energy flow to the area. I opened my jaws to let any remaining heat escape, and breathed an icy breeze over the basin. The water made a cracking noise and refroze into crystalline points, shinning gently in the light shafting from the entrance to my den. I smiled to myself, pleased with my work.

My den was rather small, but it was my only haven besides the rock that I sat behind. It was completely frozen over; giving it the look of an ice cave with dripping stalactites, and my icy breath maintained this when I exhaled in my sleep. However, I am a warm-blooded creature, so when my body temperature reaches a certain point, my icy bed will melt.

For the fifth time, I blamed _him_ for melting my bed.

---

He was already in the clearing when I went out there, licking his paw and speaking to Daggerback, a Chromeon. When I found Stonehenge and lay down besides him, he grinned and nodded his head in greeting at me. I returned his gesture, and saw Daggerback staring at me with curious grey eyes. I realised that he was surprised that I hadn't gone to hide behind my rock. Today, I just wanted to be out in the sun with Stonehenge, as had been the pattern for the last moon or so.

My excitable friend was speaking to Lightningbolt, a Jolteon with a similar disposition to Stonehenge. She rocked around on her paws as she listened, her bright eyes warning that she may bolt off at a random moment. Stonehenge turned and winked at me cheekily, before continuing his conversation.

A joyful snarl alerted me to the fact that Blackflame had begun play fighting with Daggerback. From what I've seen of the Chromeon, he was a reasonably good fighter, and wasn't holding back in this playful brawl. The pair tumbled over one another in a flurry of navy and grey fur, eliciting excited yips and snarls.

So, he was a playful fellow then.

"Coldfire, are you listening?"

I snapped out of the trance I had apparently been in, turning to see Stonehenge looking at me with a mocking pout.

"Um, no I wasn't. Sorry, could you repeat it?"

For a second I though I saw a brief flicker of jealously in Stonehenge's eyes as he glimpsed at the two play fighting eons.

"I said 'can I talk to you in private for a minute?'"

I wasn't sure what scared me more: the lack of tone in the Quartzeon's voice, or the fact that he was asking to speak with me alone. Sure, most of my conversations with him had be one on one considering I kept my distance from others, but Stonehenge had always complained that I only ever wanted to talk to him and not involve others in the conversation. Why did he want to speak to me alone, of all things?

Despite my apprehension, I nodded gingerly. "Sure."

Stonehenge looked to Lightingbolt, who was eyeing a blade of grass suspiciously, spiny tail in the air. "I'll be back in a while, ok? I just need to talk to Coldfire." The way he said my name was strange; it was careful and delicate, unlike the rough, husky way the Stonehenge usually spoke. Lightningbolt took no notice, however, and waved him away with a sulphur-coloured paw, her grass green eyes focused on whatever it was.

Usually Stonehenge would chuckle at this or something, but instead he just trotted off, with merely a glance in my general direction to see if I was following him.

With a last longing glance at Blackflame, I sheepishly followed him.

I knew how I felt about Blackflame. It was as if history was repeating itself, this time with a more attractive, kinder eon. I knew that he was newly evolved, and had flaws, but mostly these flaws drew me to him even more. I'd lay awake at night, trying to remember the exact smell of him, or the exact tone of his voice, and then I'd blush and remember how I'd been hurt last time.

I'd sworn that I'd never trust anyone again, but how could I help myself? It felt _natural_ this time.

I kept my distance from Stonehenge; despite his strange mood, he was running and bounding as fast as ever. He'd only acted like this once before, and that was when he was in love with a certain Leafeon.

I followed him for what seemed a long time, before I found myself in another small clearing. This one had a lot of rocks; unlike our clan clearing which only had our dens and the rock I used to hide behind. Stonehenge bounded up a haphazard looking pile of granite easily, and gestured with his tail for me to join him.

Sheepishly, I climbed up the granite boulders with slight difficulty; Stonehenge had to give me a paw up at the end. His warm paw lingered on mine for a few extra moments, while his butterscotch eyes gazed at me with some strange emotion.

Shy, I looked away from him, and moved to sit beside him. Stonehenge shuffled closer so that our sides were touching, and when he did so, I felt a little uncomfortable. While we were close friends, Stonehenge understood that I was a little odd about being affectionate to other creatures, and therefore kept his distance. I noticed that he, being a rock type, did not have a as high of a body temperature as most other eons, and just ignored the fact that he was so close.

"So, you wanted to talk to me, right?" My words cut the air like a Chromeon's blade; we had not spoken since we were back with the clan.

"Yes. I did." His words were direct, formal. I could feel him looking at me, and then he sighed loudly. "Coldfire, I've noticed you acting a little differently lately. You've sort of… come out of your shell."

I nodded, he was obviously right. "Yes, you're right. Is something wrong with that?"

Stonehenge responded with a laugh, and it sounded strange and foreign; he had not laughed for quite a while. "No, of course there's nothing wrong with that. I'm happy that you don't feel so at risk around others. And this new side of you… I _like_ it," He paused for a moment, his eyes taking in my reactions. "I _love_ it."

I opened my jaws to say something, but a strange yanking feeling on my heart stopped me as I realised what he meant. Stonehenge had feelings for _me_. After all of this time we had spent together, the eon I considered my brother for so many turns loved me.

"Umm, look here Stonehenge. I don't really like you in the same way…"

Stonehenge looked hurt, his tail and ears drooping even more. "Is it… the way I'm always goofing off? 'Cause I'll change it for you…"

I stopped him. "No, it isn't. It's just that I see you as a brother. Someone so impossibly close to me that I couldn't imagine being with them in that way. Does that make sense?"

The Quartzeon looked at the ground, gulped once, and nodded. My heart was racing; how could this happen?

"And not only is it that, but I am also developing feelings for another." There, I'd said it. The thing I had been denying in my head for so long, finally out in the open. I felt a weight off my chest.

"Who?" Stonehenge's eyes were now merely curious, but I saw the visicous pain behind them. Instantly, I felt sorry for him.

Fear zinged through my heart like an Artheon's sting. I had not told anybody about my feelings for Blackflame, but I knew Stonehenge could be trusted with this little insecurity of mine. It was not his disloyalty I was afraid of.

It was my own.

I was afraid to admit I felt for him; yet still I did. I denied it to myself as much as I could, but deep within me, I knew. I felt as if I had betrayed myself by breaking my own ethic: _Never fall for another male. He do the same as Sleetfisher._ And now, I was afraid to finalise the breaking of this heartheld belief by telling another Eon.

But I knew I had to. I braced myself and stuttered the single contraction that meant the world to me.

"Blackflame."

Stonehenge did not seem to react to this, but simply nodded. "I thought so."

Through my thick fur, I felt myself blush viciously. "Is it… is it really that obvious?"

"No," Stonehenge told me softly, "Just because I can tell with you. Thing is, he really seems to like you as well. You're finally hanging out with someone else." He smiled at this.

I did something I had not done since I was living with my parents. I stood up, and licked my friend on the forehead. "Thankyou, Stonehenge. You are a wonderful eon, and a wonderful friend. I hope that doesn't change.

The Quartzeon smiled again. "It won't."

We returned to the clan in warm, comfortable silence, where Lightingbolt was waiting for us.


End file.
